We’ve seen giant NES controllers in the Maker world before, but Baron von Brunk’s may be the first that is made almost entirely of Lego. Measuring in at five feet wide, I can only imagine how many thousands of light gray bricks it took to build the sidewalls alone.

A standard NES controller’s contacts were broken out and connected to momentary pushbuttons. One of the hurdles von Brunk had to overcome was how to connect the Lego-made buttons to those momentary switches without getting them stuck in one position. In the spirit of purity, he used several spring-loaded Technics pieces to ensure that each button would bounce back once pressed.

The piece was built with hardly any glue, sanding or cutting. Once completed, the controller was hooked into a USB converter for use in playing NES ROMs on the computer.

In addition to being an online editor for MAKE Magazine, Michael Colombo works in fabrication, electronics, sound design, music production and performance (Yes. All that.) In the past he has also been a childrens’ educator and entertainer, and holds a Masters degree from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.